REPORT: Trophaendienste Taxidermy Namibia - Beware

[Tim Blackwell]

Hello Gentleman,

for 4 years Louw from Trophäendienste has been my preferred Taxidermist. All my clients he treats as a priority! After each Safari we load the hunted trophies and deliver to him. There his team has the chance to ask for special requests and needs of my clients.
Till today I've had no issues working together with Louw.

Together with Rainer Sentefold from African Shipping Services they have delivered our hunting trophies into the whole world- the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden & Australia.
In my opinion they are a winning team. "Patience is the key word"

myself am a Trophy hunter and have hunted Romania, France, Germany, Cameroon and in January I am in the states for my Mountain Lion. I am very aware that the quality of the work must be first class for the Safari to be complete.

Skinning of a trophy plays a very important role, therefore we drive our Land Cruisers into the deepest gorge, thickest bush and highest mountain and we go onto the material to load the Trophy then skin, disinfect and salt properly at home.

The major enemies of a trophy are- Blood, Moisture, Dirt and gut fluid.

Of cause it also happens to us, for example that a Steinbok is not shoot to far rearward and the cape is damaged. Then Louw will contact me and say I can't use the skin to make my work perfect. Then I know I must save a cape for my client and will hand it over to Louw at the next best opportunity. This does not work if my client decides to mount them in a different country.

Unfortunately it is not possible anymore to take the hunted trophies in your suitcase after a good hunt.

Therefore there are only few options left-
1. Dip & Pack "shipping agent" Directly to your preferred taxidermy or your home.
2. Wet- Tan your skins here in Namibia and send them to your preferred taxidermy. Saves shipping costs. The wet- tanning of skins is inexpensive. "lowest shipping costs"
3. Mount your trophies in Namibia and send them directly to your agent or home.

For the future guests to Namibia, we as Professional hunters and Outfitters take highest care of your trophies in the field and the intention of our Taxidermist in our country is to produce a high quality product made in Namibia.

Best regards from NAM

Philip

Hi Philip, you are correct, improper field care is the most common cause of lost capes in the tanning process. As a Taxidermist myself I see this first hand.

However if you read through this thread you'll see that this instance had absolutely zero to do with poor field care or processing, and everything to do with poor quality control by Trophaendienste.

Regards
Tim

 

[CAustin]

Hi Philip, you are correct, improper field care is the most common cause of lost capes in the tanning process. As a Taxidermist myself I see this first hand.

However if you read through this thread you'll see that this instance had absolutely zero to do with poor field care or processing, and everything to do with poor quality control by Trophaendienste.

Regards
Tim

As is often the case when a thread gets to six pages folks do not read the whole thing. Guilty of that myself sometimes.
To get everyone back to what has happened the trophies blacks left with this company were ruined due to a new chemical process being used.....on the hides. So says the company in the title. Hopefully they address the matter to the satisfaction of @blacks .

But that doesn't explain the poor work done some years ago for fellow AH member @Wheels that went unaddressed until this thread came up and if I am not mistaken we still don't know that it has been properly addressed!
As Namibia is becoming more and more popular as a hunting destination a thread like this becomes very important for the hunter to consider.

 

[Wheels]

As is often the case when a thread gets to six pages folks do not read the whole thing. Guilty of that myself sometimes.
To get everyone back to what has happened the trophies blacks left with this company were ruined due to a new chemical process being used.....on the hides. So says the company in the title. Hopefully they address the matter to the satisfaction of @blacks .

But that doesn't explain the poor work done some years ago for fellow AH member @Wheels that went unaddressed until this thread came up and if I am not mistaken we still don't know that it has been properly addressed!
As Namibia is becoming more and more popular as a hunting destination a thread like this becomes very important for the hunter to consider.

You mentioned my situation, so I will give a brief update. This thread has opened up lines of communication between myself and Louw. AH has an amazing way of doing that.

Louw and I have shared a few pm's and now have 16 emails back and forth. We are still working on getting this resolved. When that happens I will report back here.

 

[Wheels]

@Louw Nel and I communicated back and forth over the past month or more and came to a financial compromise. Funds were wired into my account this week. I do want to thank Louw for following through. This does not change the condition of the trophies, but does show an effort by Louw to try and make things right. Your effort is appreciated!

@blacks , Thank you for letting me piggyback on your thread. I hope I didn't hijack it too bad. Wishing you all the best that your replacement skins work out well for you. Hope everyone else that is in your predicament are treated well.

@Mark R , I hope you get the satisfaction you deserve. I truly feel bad for you looking at your zebra.

@Kowas Hunting Safaris , Danie and Jacques, thank you for your response in this thread and for allowing me to put you on the spot. Jacques, safe travels to DSC. Look forward to seeing you again!

@BRICKBURN , Wayne, thanks for your input in this thread. As always, your thoughts and wisdom are appreciated.

@AfricaHunting.com , Jerome, as always, thank you for providing this platform for us to enjoy and use!



Happy Hunting!

 

[Mark R]

@Louw Nel and I communicated back and forth over the past month or more and came to a financial compromise. Funds were wired into my account this week. I do want to thank Louw for following through. This does not change the condition of the trophies, but does show an effort by Louw to try and make things right. Your effort is appreciated!

@blacks , Thank you for letting me piggyback on your thread. I hope I didn't hijack it too bad. Wishing you all the best that your replacement skins work out well for you. Hope everyone else that is in your predicament are treated well.

@Mark R , I hope you get the satisfaction you deserve. I truly feel bad for you looking at your zebra.

@Kowas Hunting Safaris , Danie and Jacques, thank you for your response in this thread and for allowing me to put you on the spot. Jacques, safe travels to DSC. Look forward to seeing you again!

@BRICKBURN , Wayne, thanks for your input in this thread. As always, your thoughts and wisdom are appreciated.

@AfricaHunting.com , Jerome, as always, thank you for providing this platform for us to enjoy and use!



Happy Hunting!

Glad things are moving forward well for you Wheels. Things are happening to resolve our issues and I will report back when it happens..... To Kowas, thank you also, as always.

Cheers,
Mark.

 

[Tim Blackwell]

@Wheels not a problem mate. Quite on the contrary, I'm glad that this thread has yielded you some results. It shouldn't come to this and it certainly won't replace your trophies, but at least it's a step towards what's just.

All the best
Tim

 

[CAustin]

Very good to hear @Wheels

 

[PARA45]

Those are some wonderful news, and shows the difference between a reputable taxidermist that cares about his clients, and one in which you are just a number and they don't care one way or another what the outcome is after getting their money. They pretend to show that they care, but in the end, they got paid, and don't care if you are happy or not with the quality & workmanship of the trophies. Unfortunately that is what happened to me dealing with Highveld Taxidermist in SA. Congrats to you and your taxidermist for making things right. A professional act on their part.

 

[Mark R]

Just a quick update that my 2nd replacement warthog and replacement Mountain zebra turned up thanks to Louw. We shall get on with getting the mounts done.....

Cheers,
Mark.

 

[BenKK]

Tim and Mark, so sorry to hear of this rotten situation! Thanks for sharing. This is super important to know for those of us planning to head to Namibia someday.

 

[K-man]

Just a quick question - Has anyone used Trophaendienste recently and if so how was their service and quality?
Sometimes these threads just end on a bad taste and if there has been improvement I would like to know. Thanks!

 

[C.W. Richter]

it sounds like a sickness one contracts when things taxidermic don't go quite right in your life lol supercalifragilistic is easier to say (and she was callipygous!)

 

[Tim Blackwell]

Just a quick question - Has anyone used Trophaendienste recently and if so how was their service and quality?
Sometimes these threads just end on a bad taste and if there has been improvement I would like to know. Thanks!

Hi K-Man, since you asked...
Unfortunately I had a client this year bring me 4 capes that he had tanned at Tropaendienste after his Namibian hunt. (I wish he'd have asked me first!) I'll let the photos do the talking, but unfortunately it appears no long term improvements have been successfully implemented.

The most disappointing thing is, the young hunter (my client's Son) suffers with Motor Neurone Disease, so these trophies are not replaceable. I got my own tanner to re-shave them and do what he could. I managed to mount the Kudu and Springbok on small forms with a lot of effort. A Red Hartebeest I'm still battling with. The Gemsbok was a bin job, and luckily I replaced it with a spare at no cost thanks to another understanding client.

I should add, I've mounted capes from 3 other African tanneries this year with complete success...

 

[K-man]

Hi K-Man, since you asked...
Unfortunately I had a client this year bring me 4 capes that he had tanned at Tropaendienste after his Namibian hunt. (I wish he'd have asked me first!) I'll let the photos do the talking, but unfortunately it appears no long term improvements have been successfully implemented.

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The most disappointing thing is, the young hunter (my client's Son) suffers with Motor Neurone Disease, so these trophies are not replaceable. I got my own tanner to re-shave them and do what he could. I managed to mount the Kudu and Springbok on small forms with a lot of effort. A Red Hartebeest I'm still battling with. The Gemsbok was a bin job, and luckily I replaced it with a spare at no cost thanks to another understanding client.

I should add, I've mounted capes from 3 other African tanneries this year with complete success...

Thank you for the current update. The pictures certainly tell a story. No matter how much someone tells you they have changed/improved as long as work still comes out looking like that that's all I need to know.